EDITORIAL: UA, Machine must be held accountable

Sunday

Sep 1, 2013 at 12:01 AM

For many years, J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI pretended that the Mafia didn’t exist. That was exactly what the crime organization wanted. The FBI couldn’t pursue something that didn’t exist. It created the perfect breeding ground for crime and corruption.It’s time for the University of Alabama’s administration to quit pretending The Machine doesn’t exist. Comparing a secret student organization to the Mafia might seem overly dramatic. But the underground alliance of fraternities and sororities at UA is real, and its influence is no longer confined to campus.The Machine has long ruled campus politics. And as long as the organization restricted its mischief to Student Government Association politics, few outside the university community cared. Word of it would occasionally seep into state and national media outlets when campus politics became particularly heated.Now, The Machine and the University of Alabama Greek system are involved in Tuscaloosa city politics. An honest get-out-the-vote effort among students would be welcome, even from a secret organization. Limousine rides to the polls and promises of free drinks for voting are another matter.Students have the right to vote. But they have to meet residency requirements like anyone else. When 10 students are registered to vote at the same address, it raises serious questions about whether those rules are being followed.Imagine if we heard 10 unrelated folks were registered at the same house in Greensboro, where absentee ballot fraud ran rampant during the past decade. What if somebody were buying drinks for voters in Greene County? How would that sound?Most students didn’t live in Tuscaloosa before their freshman year and won’t live here after they graduate. They have little stake in city government and, since most are childless and don’t own local property, even less in Tuscaloosa City Schools. That makes efforts to use them to influence a city election troubling.Students can’t be denied the right to vote if they follow all of the rules. That means establishing residency and giving up their voting privileges in their hometowns. But we do believe that both the city and University of Alabama should do all in their power to prevent a secret organization from using students to manipulate an election.The university has for too long turned a blind eye toward The Machine’s manipulation of campus elections. The bad habits it picked up in SGA elections have wormed their way into city elections.It is no longer simply a matter of college hijinks and skirting a few university rules. City elections are subject to state and federal election laws.Democratic elections are the cornerstone of representative government. An attack on them undermines the integrity of the entire system. It’s time to let The Machine’s members know that this is a line they can’t cross.